Dave Rissik

I would argue a that an important driver of major countries, especially authoritarian ones, being acquisitive is a fear of their governing classes facing the splitting away of territory and peoples already under their control. Russia and the PRC are prime examples. Their systems simply don't or can't tolerate dissent or any meaningful independence. Hence the imperative is to acquire neighboring territory with historical or cultural ties and bring them to heel, so as to eliminate any thought of such territories setting an example for further break-aways.